


The Sound of Silence

by alisayamin (sh_04e)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lotor (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Canon Universe, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dom/sub Undertones, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gentling, Hugs, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keitor Secret Santa 2018, Lotor is a gentleman, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Non-Sexual Submission, Omega Keith (Voltron), Protective Lotor, Sensory Overload, Touch-Starved, for the galras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-20 00:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17011749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh_04e/pseuds/alisayamin
Summary: Keith can't remember what it was like to not hear that noise in his head. Lotor would gladly silence it for him.





	The Sound of Silence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [subchesters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/subchesters/gifts).



> A gift for [bottomnoctis @ tumblr!](https://bottomnoctis.tumblr.com) I hope you like this and sorry if I deviated from your wishlist TwT 
> 
> This is my second Keitor work! And I'm proud of it! Feel free to adopt this concept / story as long as you credit it!

 

Keith couldn’t remember what silence was like. No matter where or when, the noise followed. The screaming of the children in the home. The chatters of his classmates at school. The sneers of the adults around him. Everyone was always so noisy.

It was quiet once before. Maybe. In his dad’s old house. The small one out in the desert. The last time he saw it was before he went into the system. The house was probably abandoned. Keith couldn’t wait to get back there when he’s older.

Then he met Shiro (and stole his car).

And it wasn’t quiet per se, but it was… better. When Shiro spoke, the noises faded till it was just a soft background static. So yes, he liked Shiro being around and talking to him. Shiro liked to talk and Keith, well he’d listen any day if it got the noise to lessen. Eventually, Keith started to genuinely _like_  Shiro. Because for once (in a long time), someone cared.

But then Shiro went to Kerberos (he left). The background noise grew into a constant buzz at first. And then it got so much worse after the Kerberos mission had failed. And it wasn’t just the noise getting louder.

“…Shiro was sick…”

“…it was a pilot error…”

“…Kerberos crew…dead…”

It drove Keith crazy. So he lashed out and left the Galaxy Garrison. He should have still been upset about Kerberos but a part of him was relieved because he could finally go back home. He rode out to the desert in his father’s bike to reclaim his right. When he stepped into his father’s old house, Keith’s relief was crushed because the noise was  _still there_. And it was still too damn loud.

Helplessly, Keith went to his dad. He knelt in front of the old tombstone and traced the engravings etched onto it.

That was when he remembered.

He knew what silence was, once upon a time. Silence was when he was in his father’s arms, when he had his face buried in his father’s jacket, and when his father’s palm was cradling the back of his head. Every time his father hugged him like he was the only treasure in the world – that was when the silence was the loudest.

Keith leaned onto his father’s tombstone and mourned for the loss of his only family with barely held back sobs.

Shiro had become some sort of buffer for the noise. With Shiro gone, the loudness came back with a vengeance. As the months passed by and the noise remained a constant once again, Keith relearned the skill of ignoring it.

 

* * *

 

By the time he rescued Shiro from the Garrison facility and they had taken off to space in the blue lion, Keith had mastered his ignorance of the loudness. Most days, Shiro made it better with his voice and touches – cuffing Keith’s nape, hitting Keith’s back as he walked by, hugging Keith – that was when Keith was closest to reaching silence.

 

* * *

 

Keith felt it before he saw it. Shiro was gone. The noise reached its highest crescendo and had  _hurt_  like it never did before, worse than it was after Kerberos.

This time, Keith had the means to search for Shiro, so he did.

 

* * *

 

He found Shiro again. But the noise never lessened. Not one bit. Keith had an idea why but he didn’t want to accept that Shiro wasn’t Shiro.

 

* * *

 

Shiro had hugged him before he left for the Blade of Marmora. All of them hugged him. Keith wasn’t even disappointed when the loudness remained the same.

(He was.)

 

* * *

 

The Blade of Marmora was quiet. They were quiet in their training and they were quiet in their missions. But Keith was always noisy because his head was noisy. The quiet of the Marmora helped somewhat. Keith learned to accept their silence and it was nice to feel like he belonged. He started to care for them. And that’s when it all went to hell.

 

* * *

 

Keith decided to return to the castle after three blades were lost in a mission that  _he had led_  because he couldn’t take it. He couldn’t  _save_ them and the noise,  _god_  it was so fucking loud. He couldn’t even hear himself. Although he knew Shiro and his friends made no difference, he couldn’t help but hope for  _something._

He had just arrived at the Castle of Lions when he remembered that they had guests on board. He recalled Kollivan telling him about Lotor being a permanent fixture with Voltron. Great. The last thing Keith wanted was to be caught looking dead on his feet by the prince.

Then again… what would he even do when he saw his friends anyway? Ask for a hug? What good would it do? What difference would it make? What was Keith trying to achieve by coming back to them?

Something inside him was threatening to break, something that had been building up since his dad died. The noise was clawing out from inside him. Keith felt as though his very soul was being torn apart.

“Well well, if it isn’t the Galran-hybrid paladin.”

Those words cut through the haze in Keith’s mind. He turned to see Lotor’s smug face. The prince was standing right behind him.

“…don have time f’you right now…” Keith managed to mumble.

Keith turned to walk away but Lotor caught his arm. “Wait. Are you alri-“

They both froze at the contact – for Keith, it was because for a split second, the noise was gone.

Lotor’s face was of shocked revelation. He spoke in a reverent voice, “You’re an omega.”

Yeah, Keith really didn’t have time to deal with whatever it was that Lotor was saying. He gave Lotor a deadpan expression and tried to push the prince’s hand away. “Look-“

“It is the noise, isn’t it?” Lotor asked tentatively.

Keith turned his head in shock and finally looked at Lotor. The prince’s face was kind and held concern. But… “How did you-“

Before Keith could finish, Lotor was pulling him close and holding him tightly. Keith's face was almost buried in the prince's chest as Lotor’s hand cupped the back of his head.

"I can make the noise stop. Will you let me?"

Keith... had no idea what was going on but the temptation of having the noise go away was too great. Before he realized it, he was nodding slowly. 

And with that approval, Lotor's thumb began to gently rub on the skin behind Keith’s left ear.

All of a sudden, the noise stopped. The buzzing inside his head was gone. The pressure behind his eyes was lifted. The tautness of his body slowly diminished, leaving him lax and weak. Keith didn’t care that he was suddenly crying and sobbing. All he cared about was the gentling behind his ear, a touch so foreign yet so familiar. There was a voice whispering in his ear and he clung desperately to it, hoping that the silence in his mind wouldn’t go away. One part of Keith knew he should be pushing Lotor away or at least question what the heck the prince was doing but it felt so good to just….be.

Keith continued to cry until he was all out of tears.

“Sleep, little one.” the voice said gently.

Keith let himself go to the noiseless darkness with a blissful sigh.

 

* * *

 

Lotor had not planned to meet the half-Galran paladin. Mainly because he never could. All their interactions had been unexpectedly…. intercepted. So, to see the half breed staggering through the castle, was definitely an opportunity Lotor would not miss. The prince was curious as to what a galra-human hybrid would be like. How much inside that body was truly galra?

At first glance, the paladin did not seem like much. There was not even that spark Lotor had seen piloting the Black Lion all those weeks ago. On second hand, the paladin did look a little pale. When he heard the paladin’s slurred response to his greeting, Lotor reached out to steady him and—

Lotor was jolted out of reality for a split second and he was slammed by this massive oppressive force that threatened to burst his brain. It explained everything about the half-Galran paladin – the unfocused vision, the near incoherent words and the explosive wave of pain from just one touch.

“You’re an omega.”

The paladin’s nonchalance and attempt to escape Lotor’s hold had angered the prince in a number of ways, mainly because it meant that the term ‘omega’ had never been explained to the half breed. Was he not with the Blade of Marmora - a group of rebel galras? How  _dare_  they hid such a thing from the paladin.

“It is the noise, isn’t it?” Because Lotor knew what omegas felt like when they were not anchored, when they had not been put down in a long time. He was taught to know even though Galran omegas were nearly extinct. 

The shocked look from the half-Galran paladin told him he was right. Without hesitation, Lotor pulled the paladin into his arms and hugged him dearly. Omegas were delicate creatures that needed a kinder touch. The prince was uncertain if the paladin’s anatomy was the same as any other Galran omega but Lotor was willing to bet that if the half breed looked like a human, then his insides would be those of a Galra. 

"I can make the noise stop. Will you let me?" Consent was important after all. Of course, Lotor could just forcefully put the omega down but he was taught better than that.

With the omega's timid nod, Lotor started to gently press his thumb into the omegan pressure point just behind the paladin’s small ear. He could see the exact moment when he had pushed the right bundle of nerves. 

And what a beautiful sight it was to watch the omega crumble in his arms.

The omega's initial rigidity suddenly shifted. It started with the widening of pupils and slightly parted lips. Then came the silent tears and the sound of a quiet breath in a tight throat. And finally, the exquisite sound of an omegan’s cry as the creature Lotor was holding failed to repress the barrage of unspoken pain that had been built up for far too long. The agony inside the omega broke free in continuous desperate sobs that made Lotor want to hold and gentle him forever. The omega's knees buckled from the release of all that strain, forcing Lotor to support all his weight. It was a level of intimacy that the Galran prince greatly appreciated. Putting an omega down was just as freeing for an alpha as it was for an omega; to be able to hold them close and pamper them.

Lotor whispered empty words of assurance into the omega’s ears to slowly ease him down. The omega clung to his every word and cried till he could cry no more.

When the omega was ready to go completely under, Lotor commanded him gently as an alpha, “Sleep, little one.”

The prince was honoured with another lovely sight of the omega falling completely limp and unconscious in his arms – a sign of trust and complete submission. Lotor easily picked up the half-Galran paladin and took a proper whiff of his scent.

The other paladins had called him ‘Keith’. And from what Lotor deduced, Keith had left Voltron to be with the blades (because there was one paladin too many). With only humans and Alteans on board, they could not do anything to ease the omega inside him. And the Blade of Marmora had failed to teach him the possible Galran traits he might have and how to live as an omegan, beta or alpha Galra. In short, Keith had left a family that couldn’t help him for a family that wouldn’t help him.

Lotor smiled. That was fine. None of them deserved this omega’s loyalty.

The constant sensory overload from not being put down would have killed any regular galran omega after a year or so, which made Keith all the more precious for surviving as long as he did. It seemed Lotor was just in the nick of time to stop the omega from going feral.

A mentally and physically powerful fighter and fierce protector. Oh, Lotor could not wait to make the omega  _his_. In the meantime, Lotor would build a nest for Keith and let him rest. After all, it had been too long since Keith was pain-free.    

Keith had been so close to breaking because of the noise. Thus, Lotor would promise him the eternal sound of silence.

 

* * *

 

Waking up from sleep was a torture Keith had to endure everyday. He could tell exactly when he was awake because the calm and quiet surroundings of his dream state would be violently assaulted by that damn noise. 

So when Keith opened his eyes and the noise was not there, he assumed he was still dreaming. And it was a nice dream... He was on a bed, not his bed, but a nice bed nonetheless. And there was something... pinning him down. The blanket maybe? Yes, like a weighted blanket. Keith burrowed his face deeper into the blanket. It was so nice. 

He sighed blissfully and enjoyed his cocoon of safety. It had been so long since he last felt safe. No burden, no worries, no noise. And that was what Keith loved most about his dreams -  the silence. 

"I know you're awake." someone said from behind Keith. It sounded familiar but Keith wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone. He just wanted to continue dreaming in peace. He ignored the voice and continued to cuddle the blanket.

"As much as I know you need rest," the persistent voice continued louder, "I believe it is better to address our current arrangement before you decide to stab me."

Stab? Why would Keith want to stab anyone? And where had he heard that voice before? It reminded him of... Lotor? Why was Lotor in his dream? Last time he had seen Lotor was-

And just like that, images flew into Keith's mind. He went back to the castle-ship because every blade under Keith had died in his last mission. He went back to the castle-ship because-- and then--

Keith removed his hand from underneath the blanket and saw that he was still in his Marmora uniform. His vision cleared and he looked at the blanket and the room. He was in the castle-ship. He had met Lotor and the noise stopped. He was on a bed in the castle-ship. He was lying on his stomach, his blanket felt heavy and Lotor was talking from behind him. _He wasn't dreaming._

 

* * *

 

Lotor had studied that omegas loved to nest and they particularly enjoyed the weight of an alpha on them as they slept. Of course, Lotor was a gentleman, he didn't physically touch Keith. He simply... placed a blanket over Keith and then laid on it, half his body covering Keith's back as the omega slept, stomach down. It was endearingly domestic and Lotor found the concept foreign but quite enjoyable. The prince realized that he was perfectly content just to stay there and let their heartbeats synchronize.

After about a varga, the omega shuffled. Somehow Lotor wasn't all that surprised. Normal omegas spent hours to days going under depending on how bad their mental state was. And then there was Keith who had most likely spent years in pain and yet he only needed a little over an hour to overcome it. Pride bloomed in Lotor's chest.

As Keith woke, Lotor felt him snuggle into the blanket and even shuffling closer to him. Lotor chuckled. He wanted more than anything to let Keith revel in his newfound peace but there would be other times for that. First, Lotor needed to discuss their current predicament before the omega decided to kill him without question (Lotor had learned firsthand that humans were rather sensitive about touch and general personal space).

And so, Lotor waited patiently for Keith to wake up. He knew the exact moment the omega under him had gained clarity of their situation because in a blink of an eye, the graceful creature had somehow twisted his body from under the blanket, unsheathed his blade, straddled Lotor and pushed the sharp end of his weapon to Lotor's throat with a snarl and an intense glare in his eyes. Lotor held his breath in awe at the beauty of the omega. 

"What did you do?" Keith asked in a low growl.

Lotor smirked. "Do you mean aiding you when you were quite literally staggering around this huge ship?"

 

* * *

 

Keith's hand faltered and his expression softened. He... remembered that. He had never felt so weak and frayed before. But why were they together on a bed? Keith scrambled his memories and remembered that Lotor did something untoward (hugging him?) but Keith didn't exactly push him away because- Keith's eyes widened. The noise. It wasn't... there. Not even a little.

Keith looked away from Lotor and touched his ear with his other hand. It didn't hurt. In fact, nothing hurt.

This time, Keith asked with a slight quiver in his voice, "What... What did you do...?" 

He felt a soft touch that pushed his bangs away from his face. Keith looked down to Lotor's kind smile. 

"You are what the galrans call, an omega. I'm surprised your heritage was never explained to you. I would expect the Blade of Marmora to at least educate you on the most basic of the galran species." Lotor continued to gentle Keith's hair, tucking it behind his ear and it was absolutely terrifying how much Keith liked his touch. "You may be a half breed but you deserve to know your own birthright, especially when it affects you so."

"What is an omega and.. what did you do to make it-" Keith waved his hand around his ear, "-stop?"

"I believe you humans call it 'sensory overload'. Omega senses are... more sensitive. Thus, you require to be 'put down'. In short, you need to be relieved of your senses. A short reprieve that can be provided by all those with the knowledge to put an omega down."

Keith frowned as he processed all that. It sounded logical. Keith knew he had heightened senses and good instinct. He wasn't entirely conscious of it but he pieced it together after he had felt the blue lion on Earth - something no one else had felt.

 

* * *

 

Lotor smiled at the omega's thinking face. It was a lot to take in and while Lotor enjoyed being underneath Keith, he quite preferred if he could get Keith to rest a little longer. 

"As much as I enjoy the view from down here..." And what a lovely embarrassed face the omega had.

"Sorry." 

The blade shone as it shortened in length and was quickly tucked away into a sheath. Lotor took pity on the omega's lost look as Keith got off him. 

"It's not a permanent solution. The noise will slowly return but if you wish, I would not mind putting you down again from time to time."

Keith almost glared at him and there it was, the mistrust that Lotor wanted to crush so badly. 

"Why would you want to do that?"

Lotor spoke the truth as he sat up on the bed. "Believe it or not, I am rather angry at the moment that no one had bothered to explain to you that you might have taken galran traits despite your outer appearance. You were on the edge of going feral. A state where you completely lose yourself and there would be no cure for it." The prince didn't have to hide his ire or how protective he was of Keith. "We are the same. Both conceived with one galran parent. Which is why I am enraged at the disservice done towards you. You have suffered your whole life and yet these people, who should have _known_ , simply let you be." 

 

* * *

 

Keith was more than a little surprised of Lotor's reasoning. He hadn't anyone who was so... forward with him before. And whatever Lotor said about going feral, sounded like a pretty big deal. Then again, the noise really was bad when Keith had come to the castle-ship. 

Since Keith didn't know what to reply to Lotor, he simply stared at the prince. 

Lotor leaned towards Keith and bowed slightly. "I would be honoured if you allowed me to care for you."

Keith had a grasp of what Lotor had explained to him but he couldn't fathom the reason Lotor would want to continue.. hugging him? So he asked again, "Why?"

"It's the least you deserve, Keith. And it's the least I can offer to you as a fellow half breed and an alpha." The earnest in Lotor's eyes reminded Keith of Shiro. "We could start small. A little physical contact and the right push at your pressure points would be enough to sate your senses at the moment." 

Keith was still frowning at Lotor but... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Keith was already feeling _alive_ for the first time in a long time and-... He couldn't deny that maybe another hug wouldn't hurt. 

"Okay."

 

* * *

 

Lotor could tell that the omega still did not completely trust him but he was fine with that. A relationship built on trust would consolidate a perfect future. Hearing the omega's consent was music to his ears. 

The prince reached out and gently took Keith's right hand. It was still gloved but he could feel the heat from the warm skin underneath. As Lotor played and gentled Keith's hand and fingers, Keith began to slouch from where he sat on the bed. For such a small area of contact, it felt strangely intimate to simply stare at their connected hands. A little squeeze around each fingertip, random circular motions on the palm, feeling each finger from bottom to top and top to bottom and just generally exploring Keith's hand. 

"What's an alpha?" Keith had asked him with a faraway look in his eyes. 

And so Lotor briefly explained about the galras and their biological roles as alphas, omegas and recently, betas. While alphas were usually sought for leadership roles, it was not a requirement. In any case, there was no hierarchical system that determined what a galran could and couldn't do based on their gender or biological roles. Even so, Lotor explained that omegas were misused during the war due to their protective nature and their unbelievable strength when they turned feral either from grief or out of force. An omega could fight longer than any beta and could kill more than any alpha in rage once they had snapped.

Lotor also explained about their anatomy. And Keith was quick to announce that he had human male reproducing organs, not... whatever Lotor explained.

Then when Lotor explained about the sensitive parts of an omega, Keith asked, "When... When you hugged me before, you did something-" He touched somewhere behind his left ear. "-here, right?"

"Yes. That would be your most prominent pressure point. It is the quickest way to put any omega down. I felt your pain when I touched you." Lotor would never forget it. "And I deemed that it was necessary to use it."

It was quiet for awhile before Keith softly said, "Thanks... for getting rid of it." 

Lotor knew Keith was referring to the noise. To be honest, he still couldn't understand how one could endure that much pain all the time. "You're welcome."

 

* * *

 

Keith loved it. He didn't know why but just the endless touch from Lotor's hand was enough. No one did that to him, ever. It sounded like a simple thing but it was rare for Keith to simply just... be touched. Keith gulped as the need for a hug grew inside him. He didn't know how to ask for one out loud so he eventually responded to Lotor's touches by squeezing the prince's hands.

When Lotor looked to him in question, Keith pleaded with his eyes, hoping the prince understood his request.

Lotor could apparently see right through him. The prince pulled his hand and Keith shuffled forward without hesitation. Keith didn't need to say anything as Lotor pulled him onto his lap and slowly wrapped the omega in a hug. Keith inhaled sharply when he was completely engulfed and just.. existed. 

The hug was overwhelming. Not as much as the first time but Keith still felt tears prickle his eyes. Lotor hushed him and started to gentle the skin at his nape.

"You have suffered far too long, little one. Do not be ashamed of needing this."

Keith exhaled slowly and tried to believe in those words. He was an omega. And he occasionally needed to be coddled. Keith mentally scoffed at that. It was ridiculous. But the proof was there, wasn't it? He couldn't and _didn't_ want to let go of the hug.

When Lotor started humming and massaging his scalp, Keith practically melted into the embrace. He could get used to it, he thought as he buried his face into the crook of Lotor's neck. And if the prince was willing, Keith wouldn't mind living in silence for once.

"Rest now."

As Keith drifted away again, he felt Lotor press a soft kiss on the side of his head.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Keith is not weak okay, far from it. He just finally hit his breaking point and Lotor was there to catch him.
> 
> IN CASE IT WASN’T CLEAR – Papa keith learned from krolia how to deal if their child had been an omega instead of an alpha or dominantly beta/human. After his dad died, no one knew about it. 
> 
> Galra omegas are natural submissive creatures and needs to enter a form of subspace to ground themselves. It can only be triggered by their omegan pressure points (easiest one being behind the left ear, the others are more protected and unpredictable). Anyone with the knowledge to put them down can do it. (Yes, everyone can learn it but Lotor's a possessive shit, he ain't letting anyone know about Keith's sensitive spots that he eventually finds)
> 
> Shiro had alpha qualities but he wasn’t the right species. That’s why he was a buffer for keith. Keith also felt the exact moment Shiro died in s2 cuz Shiro was his unofficial alpha. He didn’t feel the same for Kuron because technically, that wasn’t the same Shiro that died. 
> 
> The Blade of Marmora care for Keith, they do. But they cannot coddle the omega because they do not have time to. Some part of them believe that because Keith has lived so long without any help, he’d be fine without it (because like Lotor said, a normal galran omega would have died already) so they assumed Keith’s human side is dominant. 
> 
> Special Points to note: A sincere alpha and a hurt omega can exchange realities for a split second so that the alpha can access the omega’s pain which is what happened between Keitor. Lotor is protective of Keith because these people have hurt and neglected Keith, a hybrid just like Lotor and that just will not do. And Lotor is totally up for some cuddling and nesting with a content and confused Keith lmaoooo


End file.
